Tuesday, 21 July 2015

1MDB - LESTER MELANYI DEBUNKED - Sarawak Report (Latest)

I don't agree that Sarawak Report should be blocked while dubious characters are allowed to feed stupid propaganda to Malaysians on national television and via mainstream newspapers. Thus I reproduce (copypaste) Sarawak Report's latest expose on the conspiracy to fool you and me.

I call upon those concerned to take on Sarawak Report by rebutting their expose point by point or by instituting legal action against them. Merely blocking Sarawak Report with dubious unverified reasons only makes the Government of Malaysia and the concerned authority a source for parody and jokes. Grow up! - Apanama

Latest from Sarawak Report below - LESTER MELANYI DEBUNKED

UMNO just needed to check this picture to reveal that all Lester’s story was fake

The video ‘confession’ maker Lester Melanyi could easily have been identified as a fraudster from the very start, by employing just the simplest of checks, as Sarawak Report’s own research into his online ‘testimony’ makes clear.

It begs the question why BN’s so-called strategic communications chief, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, has in a single stroke brought ridicule and disgrace on his own government, by championing Lester as an excuse to block the Sarawak Report website?

Over the past few days Lester has admitted to having been paid, while offering a string of convoluted allegations in a series of video interviews made for a pro-UMNO ‘NGO’ named Pertubuhan Minda dan Sosial Prihatin Malaysia.

Rahman leapt at the unsubstantiated material and proceeded to hold press conferences in order to denounce Sarawak Report, which has over several months produced closely researched and documented articles relating to the disappearance of billions of ringgit from the development fund 1MDB.

Rahman – selective against messengers

Even after members of his own party warned that Melanyi was well known to be a deeply unreliable and dishonest character in Kuching, Rahman lashed back that critics should not “shoot the messenger”.

Instead Rahman selectively chose to shoot down Sarawak Report, by banning this site on the judgement that Lester’s allegations had “proved” it to be publishing “blatant lies”.

Second set of videos

Thus protected by the Government Minister himself, who is willing to ban some media messengers while promoting others, Melanyi proceeded today to come out with further video ‘evidence’, much of which contradicted his previous testimony.

In particular, Lester told his interviewer about an alleged master forger and online expert, which he claimed Sarawak Report had used to concoct the multiple sourced documents relating to our exposures of malfeasance at 1MDB.

90% of all our material was forged Melanyi claimed:

“The web designer in London is very good in doing it. If you ask him to create money, he can create money for you and it may look genuine,” he added in the video [Malaysiakini]

In the video Lester gave the name of this fictitious forger. He is called James Steward Stephen raved Melanyi, which is in fact the real name of the former Hollywood Star James Stewart.

The name of the alleged online expert and forger according to Lester’s video

The video then treated viewers to an alleged picture of the master criminal, who was accused by Lester of assisting Sarawak Report in producing forged documents to discredit 1MDB and the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

These accusations were carried by Malaysian Mail online and numerous other media outlets, including the face of the gentleman below in a number of cases.

Alleged face of the master crook!

Unfortunately, as any online check makes clear this is the face of another Englishman, one James Steward (no Stephen), who works as a senior station manager for the bus company Abellio, based in Norwich.

The picture had been lifted from a website where he had been featured for giving a local talk on his actual professional speciality, which happens to be bus transport routes in the East of England.

Manager for National Express Busses – at least it can be said he graduated in IT!

Mr Steward and his press team at Abellio were unamused when Sarawak Report contacted them earlier this afternoon to enquire about Mr Melanie’s allegations:

“This is a case of mistaken identity and James Steward does not have any connections with Malaysia….To reiterate, the person concerned is not James Steward (an employee of Abellio Greater Anglia). James’ name is James Steward, not James Steward Stephens” [Abellio press officer]

Under the circumstances we suggest that Lester Melanyi and UMNO issue a very hasty apology indeed to Mr Stephens for accusing him of being a master forger. We suggest they repair their mistake.

And then perhaps Mr Melanyi could explain his lie?

The only fake is Lester!

Advance copies to alter

Another ridiculous and easily disproved claim by the somewhat tragi-comedic figure of Mr Melanyi was that Sarawak Report has been sending him “advance copies” of our articles for him to re-write before publication.

Jobless Lester had claimed he was a highly paid insider at Sarawak Report who got advance copies of stories..

To illustrate this boast Lester’s video duly flashed up screen shots of our regular newsletter bulletins which are sent to over 7,000 subscribers to our site, who have signed up to be notified whenever we post a new story.

That means that over 7,000 people can testify directly that Lester is talking nonsense:

Lester produced as ‘evidence’ the normal newsletter he received, because like 7,000 other people he had signed up.

Sarawak Report asks how those interviewing Lester could have allowed themselves to publish such a stunning and libellous video, courting national and international publicity, without having made some basic checks first?

And how could a minister in the government have proved himself so incompetent not only to unquestioningly put his own and his party’s credibility on the line over such material without checking, but to also refuse to listen to warnings even from his own senior party members that Lester was a man without credibility?

Legal suits looming

Little wonder then that these video, which have been touted around Malaysia over the past few days are now sparking law suits.

Melanyi had raved, amongst other things, that opposition MPs had been involved in a so-called conspiracy to defame the Prime Minister and had met and communicated with him as part of the plotting.

Names he threw into the pot included Tony Pua, who had never before heard of this sad fantasist from Kuching and has notified he will be instituting libel action.

Melanyi is now also saying in his latest videos that he has met several times with Mr Xavier Justo, currently in jail in Thailand, and the subject of a separate defamation campaign being orchestrated by UMNO loyalists of the Prime Minister.

Nevertheless, Lester goes off script over Justo and describes him as a “nice guy” who could not possibly have tampered with anything.

“.. that he tampered the emails is definitely not true!” said Lester:

Since UMNO are so believing of Lester, then they should lobby for Justo to be set free from Thailand not for him to be held in jail!

The “tampering” was all the job of the non-existent forger James Steward Stephen at Sarawak Report’s behest, Lester elaborated.

In this case, therefore, could the Malaysian Minister, who is so believing of everything Lester says, now exercise his good offices towards getting the innocent Mr Justo out of the Bangkok jail, where he has languished for over a month without charges, mainly because the Malaysian Government has been determined to accuse him of “tampering” documents that are damaging to the Prime Minister?

Changing stories

The promoters of Lester’s videos seem equally unperturbed that his story keeps changing as the lies are pointed out.

Two days ago Melanyi was claiming he had been in London from 2012 right up until 2014 working for $6000 a month of Sarawak Report!

But, after we pointed out that he had been sent back home in early 2011 after a short stint on Radio Free Sarawak. And since the rest of Kuching has started to testify that Lester has been scrounging around town borrowing money, getting bankrupt and generally making a nuisance of himself for at least the past three years, he has changed his tale.

Today he was claiming he had even met Xavier Justo back in London “two or three years ago” when he was there.

In fact it was four years ago Lester

There is no reason whatsoever to believe that Lester has met Justo any more than he has met Tony Pua.

Sticking up for Riza Aziz

It seems that part of the favour that Lester was being asked to perform in this attempt to defame everyone who has revealed awkward matters relating to 1MDB was to rescue the reputation of the PM’s son Riza Azia.

Out of huge numbers of articles written by Sarawak Report on 1MDB Melanyi selected one to say that he could specifically inform viewers it was false.

This was the article we wrote revealing Riza Aziz’s home in Beverley Hills, which had been passed on to him by the controversial 1MDB connected businessman, Jho Low.

He didn’t know the house, Lester slurred, but he could say the story was untrue.

“fake article” about the house of Riza Aziz, which Sarawak Report visited in Hollywood

Unfortunately for Lester and his backers this means that they are also accusing the New York Times of lying about the story.

Because, the New York Times have confirmed that the property belongs to Aziz and that it originally belonged to Jho Low.

In his next video Lester will have to remember to add the NYT to the growing list of conspirators and forgers being alleged as part of this plot to tell lies about the missing billions that are documented as having disappeared from 1MDB.

Sad characters should not be exploited

Sarawak Report has already made plain that UMNO’s PR people have not only blundered but behaved disgracefully in continuing to parade Lester Melanyi.

Anyone who views the videos can see that Lester is ill, not just in body but in mind. He is known to be unable to continue to earn his living, having disappointed all his would be employers over the years.

Lester is bankrupt, desperate for money, in debt to all who know him and is a very well known liar.

UMNO have disgraced themselves by depending on his testimony and for axing a professionally run news website dedicated to investigative reporting in Malaysia on his words alone.

It is also disgraceful to parade a sick and desperate man for propaganda purposes, when he is doing it for money and when his evidence is so shabby and so easily disproved.

Can Mr Rahman sink lower than this? We will soon find out.

However, with supporters like him and Lester Melanyi, Najib need not look for enemies to his cause.

TS James Masing, who is a BN Minister and also from Sarawak himself, warned us a few days ago not to trust this "expose".

It is now clear that it's a complete fantasy. Lester is just being cruelly exploited (I feel sorry for him, he is badly in need of money by all accounts.) The middleman macha NGO nobody will pocket a few thousand for his shoddy camerawork and ridiculous script. Enjoy la, dei.

The whole exercise does nothing to clear Najib, and has actually backfired very badly. I am sure right now they are busy forging WhatsApp records "implicating" Tun that will be soon "released" in Thailand. These will also be proven to be lies. The Umno boys are way out of their depth here.

I hate to think that this style of con job works for Sabahan. I assumed he got his position conning sabahan for their votes. I would like to think sabahan are better in selecting their mp. But with such low quality strategy it just proves it doesn't take much to con sabahan. I just like to say you need to work harder to con west Malaysia people. There is no easy money like the one in Sabah bro here in west Malaysia

Pity poor Lester, he doesn't know which way to turn now, his patron is set to desert him. The more he parades Lester in front of the rakyat, the lower he shows his own class, which is down there. Guess it takes scum to know scum, but in Lester's case, just pity him, a sick and broken man in desperate need of money but low in intelligence. Lester was supposed to go in firing all kinds of b**sh** provided by the so-called benefactor who didn't dare name names, but used Lester ruthlessly. One "claim" after another has been debunked by the SR editor.Will this so-called benefactor stand guarantee for Lester in the legal action against him?

Sdr Apanama, thank you for reproducing SR's rebuttal on Lester's claims.However ludicrous the claims are now seen to be, SR did a good job to rebut all of them.It was just a waste of time to block access to SR, so many ways to access SR available. What on earth was Shabery thinking of?This is really one bad move which will reflect badly on him if the block continues.Hope he will remember when the current Putrajaya head honchos fall, he does not go with them. He should build up goodwill with the rakyat instead of destroying his own chances. Lim Kok Wing has resigned from being PM's media advisor, he probably has realised it is definitely not healthy to remain.Rahman Dahlan has already burnt his lifeboat, no way out, Husni same, Mazlan same, no need to waste time listing the others.

Hope some good Samaritan will advise Lester to apologise to Tony Pua immediately. The way Lester is going about, he is going to invite more lawsuits against himself. In fact no one would dare come near Lester now, best thing is to withdraw quickly, apologise and fade out. Hurry before it is too late.

Quote: And how could a minister in the government have proved himself so incompetent not only to unquestioningly put his own and his party’s credibility on the line over such material without checking, ..... ?

One cannot blame the PM for feeling betrayed by his own media / communications advisors. HOw could Dahlan produce Lester and his "false" accusations against SR without so much as checking and verifying the claims? The responsible papers and on-line news media do as much as possible to verify their reports before publishing them. Did Dahlan do any homework at all? And this is how he performs his job for the PM? Surely the PM would be safer without people like him?

From MKini:MCA president Liow Tiong Lai has defended the government’s move to block access to the whistleblower site Sarawak Report.

When asked about the block and whether it contravenes the government’s guarantee of no internet censorship, Liow replied that everyone including internet users still had responsibilities.

What about your responsibilities Mr Liow? Do you deny the Malaysian people the right to read other than pro-gomen publications? Are we that stupid that we cannot think for ourselves? What have you done for us so far Mr Liow, or to put it another way what have you done to us?

Bro ...So , Lester finally open up the Pendora box !!!Now all those who are against the PM Nagib have no where to run . They are cornered . They are now jumping over each other scratching and howling .

Haha, the great task has now fallen to Ramesh Rao to release more Lester episodes.What a great waste of time, money, and effort, how much more will they make use of Lester, that broken, old, sick man who's become a laughing stock. In the name of humanity, stop this circus show, stop parading him, he is not a circus animal.

Media Statement by Ho Kay Tat, Publisher & Group CEO of The Edge Media Group

We could not walk away on finding out about the scheme to cheat Malaysia of Billions of Ringgit

Kuala Lumpur, July 21, 2015 - The Edge had reported extensively on 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) in 2013 and 2014 as it emerged that the government-owned entity had run into financial difficulties. Information was, however, scarce and limited because its annual audited financial reports were consistently late.

Our journalists have met various contacts and pored through whatever available information they could get hold of in search of the truth.

Early this year, we were told someone was willing to share information that will shed light on 1MDB’s joint-venture with PetroSaudi International. We were not told who he was before we met him.

This person, whom we shall not name, showed us thousands and thousands of emails and document attachments. We read scores of them and were convinced of their authenticity because of the sheer volume and the email trails. We subsequently had an IT forensic expert confirmed that there was no reason to worry that they were fakes.

What we read shocked us. What was supposed to be a joint-venture that will bring economic benefits to the country was nothing more than a scheme to scam billions of ringgit from Malaysia by a small group of Malaysians and their foreign partners.

At that point, we could do one of two things:

1) Drop the matter like a hot potato and walk away, or

2) Get hold of everything so that the truth can be uncovered.

We decided we had to pursue the truth.

As Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tun Musa Hitam and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said recently, those who have information that can lead to the truth must speak out and not look the other way. Not reporting a wrong doing is a crime.

Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have said they want to get to the truth.

As a media group, we believe we have a public duty to do, no matter how difficult and dangerous it may be for us.

Meeting contacts to gather information is what media professionals do all the time in pursuit of a story. There is nothing wrong or sinister.

We were not involved in any theft, we did not pay anyone, and we did not tamper any of the emails and documents we were given. In fact, we have secured the data so that no one can tamper with them. This can be independently verified by the authorities.

Some of the information have been used in articles we have published in the last few months. Some were just too sensitive to be used. None of the articles have been challenged by anyone named in these stories.

Indeed, we believe our articles have been of help to the various government agencies looking at 1MDB.

There is no political agenda or conspiracy in what we have done. In fact, we have engaged with various politicians and government officials who have sought our help to get a better understanding of what had happened and the situation 1MDB is in today.

The easiest thing we could have done after coming across what we found, was to walk away. Why look for trouble? But we could not do that.

We chose to take the difficult path, one that we knew will be fraught with risks to ourselves personally and to our organisation, which now faces the possibility of action by the Home Ministry.

On Monday, we handed documents, printed emails and a hard disc to Bank Negara. Today, the same set was given to the Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the Police. I also gave a statement to CCID.

We are comforted that the various investigators, the Auditor-General, the Public Accounts Committee, Bank Negara, the Police, the MACC and the Attorney-General have given their commitment to uncover the truth without fear or

It is, indeed, their responsibility and their duty to the people of Malaysia to do just that. Just as it was our duty to pursue the story.